DIY Knock-Off Ribbon Plumes

4 Materials
$10
5 Hours
Easy

Some of my favorite crafting projects have been done with ribbon! I work with ribbon all the time and the worst part about it is the fraying that might happen. There are several methods that you can use to stop ribbon from fraying or unraveling, but what if you actually want it to unravel! That's right! This is all about unraveling ribbon to make beautiful plumes - a great way to "knock-off" a pampas grass design I saw on Crate and Barrel! Don't you just love figuring out how to re-create something you saw in a high-end shop?


But unraveling ribbon isn't all that easy. The trick is finding those threads that are continuous on the ribbon and unwinds it all. And it can be tricky because all ribbons are not created equal. There're the ones where you can find that particular thread - like here: You simply start pulling the threads on the end and suddenly it's starts to unravel - the thread coming off - going back and forth - unraveling the ribbon!

And then there's the other kind of ribbon where no matter how hard you try, the one thread that's suppose to be holding it all together just doesn't exist. And I think it has something to do with the quality of the ribbon and how it's made. That's the type of ribbon I'm using to make a few plumes.

Let's begin by cutting about thirty, 5" ribbon strips to make one plume.

Next add double sided tape to one of the short end edges. Do this for all the ribbon strips.

After adding the double sided tape, cut the side edges, sometimes called the welting, off of the ribbon strips.

Then start removing the fray threads from the end. Use the tip end of a large safety pin to scrape the fraying threads off to reveal soft silk-like fibers. I like using a small cutting board as a work surface to scrape the ribbon. It's nice and sturdy and seems to make it all work better.

Use a small brush to help remove the gathered loose threads that bunch up from scraping the ribbon. . .

creating a nice smooth silky fringed piece. It took me about four minutes to get it to look like this. Imagine doing thirty of these - it can be very time consuming! So take a seat in front of the tv and binge watch a good movie or series! Better yet, listen to some good music to make it all go quicker!

To add the ribbon fringe to the stem wire to create the plume, remove the backing from the double-sided tape and . . .

place the tip of the wire on the edge of the tape and . . .

begin rolling the ribbon fringe around the wire stem . . .

until the ribbon fringe is secured around and onto the wire stem. Isn't this beginning to look fabulous!

Continue adding the ribbon fringes to the stem wire, staggering the tape slightly below the previous ribbon fringe.

Adding each fringe one - one by one.

To make a beautiful plume!

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Gail@Purple Hues and Me
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  3 questions
  • 17335038 17335038 on Apr 10, 2021

    What is the fabric content of the particular ribbon that you used?

    It looks to me as if it might be nylon as the cut piece is quite stiff.

  • SpudBread SpudBread on Apr 12, 2021

    TOTALLY MAGNIFICENT - idea/project!!!! AND ... NO allergy responses to the "real" pampas grass plumes ... or such! HALLELUJAH!!!! Thank you for a pollen free home for Fall (or whenever "plumes" are required - ??? an "Easter Bonnet," perhaps???)!

  • Mcgypsy9 Mcgypsy9 on Jun 25, 2021

    These are really nice. I’m wondering if you could use one of those metal combs like they use to get lice out of hair? The tines are really close together on those. I’d have to try it first just to make sure it didn’t totally fray them apart and ruin them. Have you tried anything like that?

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  • C C on Apr 29, 2022

    Love what you did and you’re step-by-step directions are great. Can’t wait to try this one. Have you tried it with white ribbon?

    • Gail@Purple Hues and Me Gail@Purple Hues and Me on Apr 29, 2022

      Thanks, C! I guess you meant to write purple ribbon - no I haven't! I try not to do too many projects in purple, lol!

  • Garnet fowler Garnet fowler on Apr 13, 2023

    I really want to try this. Time is my problem but if I do one ribbon a day it could be ready by Memorial Day. 🤩Thrift shops here I come to get lots of ribbon. You are so clever. Thanks for sharing.

    • Gail@Purple Hues and Me Gail@Purple Hues and Me on Apr 14, 2023

      You are quite welcome, Garnet! And thanks! I have a Let's Get Crafty class in my neighborhood and I introduced the ladies to making the ribbon plumes. Hobby Lobby put some of its' bridal ribbon on clearance and I bought several rolls of ribbon for the ladies to try to find the illusive thread that allows the ribbon to unravel. It took a while but all of them eventually were able to find the thread! It's so much easier to make the plumes when you can unravel the ribbon so much quicker than using a pin. Also, here is a video link that may help you with this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDWallJCxC4&t=24s

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